Modular protection cabinet with flexible backplane

ABSTRACT

An enclosure for protecting electronic devices. The enclosure has a rear base defining a cavity for holding different interchangeable electronic devices. The enclosure has a front cover coupled to the rear base. The enclosure has a backplane within the cavity of the rear base and a drawer chest. The drawer chest has a drawer chest has multiple drawers. The backplane connects to any of the different interchangeable electronic devices when an electronic device of the different interchangeable electronic devices is inserted into any drawer of the plurality of drawers.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of, and claims priority toand the benefit of, U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No.15/216,537, titled “MODULAR PROTECTION CABINET WITH FLEXIBLE BACKPLANE,”filed Jul. 21, 2016, which claims priority to and the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/196,837, titled “MODULAR PROTECTIONCABINET WITH FLEX-BACK BACK PLANE,” filed on Jul. 24, 2015, the entiretyof these applications is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

STATEMENT REGARDING GOVERNMENT RIGHTS

This invention was made with Government support under GovernmentContract No. W31P4Q-15-C-0022 awarded by the Department of Defense. TheGovernment has certain rights in this invention.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present invention relates to a sealed enclosure for protectingelectronics.

2. Description of the Related Art

Enclosures protect electronics that filter signals sent to a hostelectronic device. The enclosures have electronic circuit boards andwiring that connect, for example, the filter module to the hostelectronic device. The enclosures, however, use discrete components andgas filter tubes that require a significant amount of wiring whichresults in difficulty in accessing and/or reconfiguring the differentcomponents.

Typically, the electronic circuit boards that provide the connectionbetween a filter module and a host electronic device are fixed withinthe enclosure. Therefore, the reconfiguration of the enclosure to addanother filter module or switch to a different type of filter module mayrequire significant rewiring and configuration changes to the circuitry.Moreover, when a filter module is inserted into the enclosure, thefilter module may not directly align with the electronic circuit boardwithin the enclosure.

SUMMARY

In general one aspect of the subject matter described in thisspecification is embodied in an enclosure for protecting electronicdevices. The enclosure has a rear base defining a cavity for holdingdifferent interchangeable electronic devices. The enclosure has a frontcover coupled to the rear base. The enclosure has a backplane within thecavity of the rear base and a drawer chest. The drawer chest hasmultiple drawers. The backplane connects to any of the differentinterchangeable electronic devices when an electronic device of thedifferent interchangeable electronic devices is inserted into any drawerof the plurality of drawers.

These and other embodiments may include one or more of the followingfeatures. The front cover and the rear base may be connected using ahinge. The hinge may have a pin which may allow the front cover to beuncoupled from the rear base when the pin is removed. The front covermay be movable between an open position and a closed position. The rearbase of the enclosure may have a rear surface which may have a recessedportion. The one or more connectors may be exposed outward from therecessed portion.

The enclosure may have a chassis mounted within the cavity. The chassismay include the backplane. The enclosure may have one or more connectorsthat are exposed outward. The one or more connectors may provide aconnection to a host electronic device. The enclosure may have aflexible harness. The flexible harness may electrically connect aninserted electronic device to at least one of the one or more connectorsvia the backplane. The one or more connectors, the flexible harness andthe backplane may be configured to provide a pass-through for a signalfrom the inserted electronic device to the host electronic device. Thedifferent interchangeable electronic devices may have one or more two toeight wire interchangeable transient protection modules.

Each drawer may define a cavity configured to hold an electronic deviceand may have two rail interfaces on opposite sides to each receive arail of the electronic device. The backplane may have a printed circuitboard that connects to a single electronic device when the singleelectronic device is inserted into the drawer.

The different interchangeable electronic devices may include a firstinterchangeable electronic device and a second interchangeableelectronic device. The drawer may be configured to receive the firstinterchangeable electronic device when the first interchangeableelectronic device is inserted and the second interchangeable electronicdevice when the second interchangeable electronic device is inserted.The first interchangeable electronic device may protect a first signalof a first type and the second interchangeable electronic device mayprotect a second signal of a second type. The first signal type may bean analog signal, a digital signal, a loudspeaker signal, a T1/E1signal, a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) signal, an Ethernet signal, or aPower over Ethernet (PoE) signal.

In another aspect, the subject matter is embodied in an enclosure forprotecting electronic devices. The enclosure has a rear base defining acavity and a front cover coupled to the rear base. The enclosure has adrawer chest within the cavity of the rear base and a backplane. Thebackplane is connected to the drawer chest. The backplane is configuredto connect to a first interchangeable transient protection module whenthe first interchangeable transient protection module is inserted intothe drawer chest and a second interchangeable transient protectionmodule when the second interchangeable transient protection module isinserted into the same cavity of the drawer chest. The first transientprotection module may be of a different type than the second transientprotection module.

In another aspect, the subject matter is embodied in an enclosure forprotecting electronic devices. The enclosure has a rear base defining acavity for holding one or more electronic devices and a front covercoupled to the rear base. The enclosure has a drawer chest that isconfigured to receive an electronic device when the electronic device isinserted into the drawer chest. The enclosure has a backplane within thecavity of the rear base. The backplane has a printed circuit board thatis configured to engage with the inserted electronic device. Theenclosure has one or more connectors that provide a connection to a hostelectronic device. The enclosure has a flexible harness thatelectrically connects the backplane to the one or more connectors toform the connection to the host electronic device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will be or will become apparent to one with skill in the artupon examination of the following figures and detailed description. Itis intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, andadvantages be included within this description, be within the scope ofthe present invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims.Component parts shown in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, andmay be exaggerated to better illustrate the important features of thepresent invention. In the drawings, like reference numerals designatelike parts throughout the different views, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front view of an enclosure system for providing signalfiltering according to an aspect of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the enclosure of FIG. 1 according to an aspectof the invention;

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the enclosure of FIG. 1 according to an aspectof the invention;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the interior of the enclosure of FIG. 1according to an aspect of the invention;

FIG. 5 is an inside view of the front of the enclosure of FIG. 1according to an aspect of the invention;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the drawers of the drawer chest of theenclosure of FIG. 1 according to an aspect of the invention;

FIG. 7 is an interior view of the rear portion according to an aspect ofthe invention;

FIG. 8 is an interior view of the enclosure of FIG. 1 showing aninterconnection of the signal devices to the input/output connectorsaccording to an aspect of the invention;

FIG. 9 is an exploded view of the one or more printed circuit boardsaccording to an aspect of the invention;

FIG. 10 is a side view of the enclosure showing an additional connectoraccording to an aspect of the invention;

FIG. 11 is an illustration of a four-post analog transient protectionmodule according to an aspect of the invention;

FIG. 12 is an illustration of a loudspeaker two-post transientprotection module according to an aspect of the invention;

FIG. 13 is an illustration of a four-post digital transient protectionmodule according to an aspect of the invention;

FIG. 14 is an illustration of a T1/E1 transient protection moduleaccording to an aspect of the invention;

FIG. 15 is an illustration of an Ethernet transient protection moduleaccording to an aspect of the invention; and

FIG. 16 is a rear view of a transient protection module according to anembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Disclosed herein are enclosures and systems for carrying, interfacingand connecting one or more signal modules to a host electronic device.Particular embodiments of the subject matter described in thisspecification may be implemented to realize one or more of the followingadvantages. An enclosure, such as a Ground Communication Filter Unit(GCFU), is able to connect to a host electronic device and provide aninterface between the host electronic device and another electronicdevice, such as a filter module. The enclosure provides a modular designthat allows for interchangeability among different types of electronicdevices, such as different types of transient protection modules (TPMs)or filter modules. By having a modular design, the enclosure isreconfigurable without interruption to the operation of the otherinserted electronic devices. That is, the enclosure may be reconfiguredto receive any number of electronic devices and/or different types ofelectronic devices. The modular design allows easy reconfiguration ofthe number and types of stored electronic devices.

The electronic devices may be arranged in any number of configurations,e.g., vertically and/or horizontally, within the enclosure. For example,TPMs may be arranged in any number of rows and/or columns. Theflexibility allows for the number and arrangement of the electronicdevices to be configured and reconfigured depending on the task. Forexample, a first task may require use of four analog filters. Uponcompletion of the first task, the enclosure may be easily reconfiguredto support a second task requiring the use of four digital filtersinstead of the four analog filters without having to rewire theenclosure. Thus, the enclosure saves time and provides interoperabilityto perform different tasks that require different electronic devices.

Other benefits and advantages may include the capability to connect toelectronic devices that are mis-aligned. For example, if a connector ofan electronic device does not align with the connectors on the printedcircuit boards within the enclosure, the connectors on the printedcircuit board may float about an axis to electrically connect with theelectronic device. Moreover, aspects of the enclosure reduce wiringerror within the enclosure and provide a connection to the externalinput/output interface. Thus, the enclosure assists in maintainingsignal connectivity between an electronic device and the host electronicdevice.

Additionally, the modularity of the electronic devices allows for easierremoval and maintenance of the electronic devices for repair. Thus,service costs and time are reduced.

FIG. 1 is a front view of an enclosure system for providing signalfiltering. The enclosure system 100 includes an enclosure 101 that holdsand protects one or more electronic devices 116. The enclosure 101provides an interface between the one or more electronic devices 116 anda host electronic device. The enclosure 101 may be mounted onto the hostelectronic device, wall or other surface.

The enclosure 101 protects the one or more electronic devices 116 fromshock, dust, dirt, weather, water, heat and other environmentalconditions or damage. The enclosure 101 may meet or exceed one or moregovernmental requirements to withstand environmental conditions, such asvibration, shock or stress thresholds. The enclosure 101 may havephysical dimensions of approximately 16.5 inches by 18 inches by 18inches, and the exposed surfaces of the enclosure 101 may be coated witha non-reflective coating.

The one or more electronic devices 116 that are inserted into theenclosure 101 may be one or more signal modules and/or one or morefilter modules, e.g., one or more transient protection modules (TPMs).The one or more transient protection modules protect different signaltypes. The different signal types being protected may include analog,digital, loudspeaker, T1/E1, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), Ethernet,Power over Ethernet (PoE) or various others. The TPMs that are storedand protected in the enclosure 101 are described in U.S. Pat. No.9,190,837, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

The enclosure 101 has a front cover 102 and a rear base 104. The frontcover 102 may define an internal cavity 124. The front cover 102 mayhave a wind stop to protect the enclosure 101 from the wind. The rearbase 104 may define an internal cavity 114. The one or more electronicdevices 116 are held within the internal cavities 114, 124 of theenclosure 101.

The front cover 102 is movable between an open position and a closedposition. The front cover 102 may have a lip 122 that covers the outerperimeter edge of the rear base 104 when the front cover 102 is in theclosed position. The rear base 104 and/or front cover 102 may have agasket 118 that runs along the outer perimeter edge such that when thefront cover 102 is in the closed position incoming cabling is protectedfrom abrasion.

The enclosure 101 may have one or more latches 112. The latch 112 maysnap or latch onto the front cover 102 when the front cover 102 is inthe closed position to secure the front cover 102 to the rear base 104.The enclosure 101 may have a door stay 120. The door stay 120 may beconnected to an inner surface of the rear base 104 and an inner surfaceof the front cover 102. The door stay 120 may be configured to prop thefront cover 102 in the open position. The door stay 120 may be adoor-biasing mechanism. That is, the door stay 120 may have a lockedposition and an unlocked position, such that when the door stay 120 isin the locked position and the front cover 102 is in the open position,the door stay 120 props the front cover 102 open. But, when the frontcover 102 is open and the door stay 120 is in the unlocked position, thefront cover 102 may be moved into the closed position.

The rear base 104 may segregate the internal cavity 114 into anelectrically dirty portion 106 and an electrically clean portion 108.The dirty portion 106 may be an area susceptible to electro-magneticinterference (EMI) and/or electro-magnetic conductance (EMC). The cleanportion 108 may be an area protected against EMI and/or EMC. The cleanportion 108 may house an inserted electronic device, such as a TPM. Theinner surface of the clean portion 108 may have an anodized coating,chromate conversion coating, or other protective (and preferablyconductive) coating.

The rear base 104 may segregate the internal cavity 114 into the twoportions using a dividing wall. The mounting flange 110 forms an annularring around the enclosure 101 that seals out EMI/EMC from the hostelectronic device. The mounting flange 110 may have a gasket on the backside toward the host electronic device, i.e., the side toward the cleanportion 108. The mounting flange 110 may be used to mount the enclosure101 to the host electronic device.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the enclosure 101. The front cover 102 may usea securing mechanism, such as a hinge 202, to swing between the openposition and the closed position and secure the front cover 102 to therear base 104. The securing mechanism may include the hinge 202 and apin 204. The hinge 202 may be fastened to the front cover 102 and therear base 104 and interconnect to secure the front cover 102 with theside surface of the rear base 104 when the pin 204 is inserted.

The hinge 202 may run vertically along a longitudinal axis that extendsfrom a point near a top surface of the enclosure 101 to a point near thebottom surface of the enclosure 101. The hinge 202 extends along aportion of the perimeter of the outer surface of the front cover 102 anda portion of the outer side surface of the rear base 104. The hinge 202has a central through-hole that extends along the longitudinal axis andreceives the pin 204. In some implementations, the hinge 202 may runhorizontally from a point near a side surface of the enclosure 101 to apoint near an opposite side surface of the enclosure 101 on the topsurface of the enclosure 101 or the bottom surface of the enclosure 101to open in a vertical direction.

The pin 204 has a top end and a bottom end. The top end of the pin 204may have a service handle 206 that allows a user to lift and remove thepin 204 and guide the pin 204 through the through-hole of the hinge 202.A hairpin cotter pin, e-clip, or key ring at the bottom end of the pin204 may secure the pin 204 within the hinge 202. The pin 204 secures thefront cover 102 to the rear base 104 when inserted. When the pin 204 isremoved, the front cover 102 is removable from the rear base 104.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the enclosure 101. The rear base 104 has a rearsurface 308. The rear surface has a recessed region 310. One or moreinput/output connectors, e.g., input/output connectors 302, 304, and306, extend from within the cavity 114 of the rear base 104 outwardthrough the rear surface 308 so that the one or more input/outputconnectors 302, 304 and 306 are exposed outward from the rear surface308. The one or more input/output connectors 302, 304 and 306 mayconnect to the host electronic device and allow a signal inputtedthrough the one or more electronic devices 116 to pass or filter throughto the host electronic device.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the interior of the enclosure 101. Theinterior of the enclosure 101 includes a drawer chest 402 and a chassis416. The chassis 416 and the drawer chest 402 may be brazed using analuminum brazing process to provide EMI protection. The chassis 416 mayhave a first slide plate 404, a flex backplane 406 with one or morefloating printed circuit boards 412 attached via flex harnesses andlocated within it, a second slide plate 408, a backplane support 410and/or a cover 414. The enclosure 101, the drawer chest 402, and thebackplane support 410 may be made of aluminum or other metal. The slideplates 404, 408 are non-metal, such as Delrin® (acetal) or Teflon®(Polytetrafluo oethylene or PTFE). In some implementations, theenclosure 101 has a monolithic backplane and instead of the slide plates404, 408, has only a backplane support 410. In this configuration, thebackplane support 410 would be non-metal, such as Delrin® (acetal) orTeflon® (PTFE).

The drawer chest 402 is further described below in reference to FIG. 5.The first slide plate 404 may be connected to a back end of the drawerchest 402. The flex backplane 406 may be connected to and in between thefirst slide plate 404 and the second slide plate 408. The second slideplate 408 may be connected to the backplane support 410.

The flex backplane 406 may have one or more printed circuit boards 412that connect to one or more connectors of at least one of the one ormore electronic devices 116, such as connectors 1604 a-d of thetransient protection module 1600 as shown in FIG. 16, when the at leastone of the one or more electronic devices 116 is inserted into one ofthe drawers 502. At least one of the first slide plate 404, the secondslide plate 408, the backplane support 410 or the flex backplane 406 maybe configured to allow one or more printed circuit boards 412 to float.That is, if the one or more connectors on the printed circuit boards 412are mis-aligned with the one or more connectors on a correspondingelectronic device 116 the one or more connectors on the printed circuitboards 412 may be able to move or angle to maintain or establish theconnection with the connectors on the corresponding electronic device116.

Different types of the one or more electronic devices 116 may connect tothe one or more printed circuit boards 412. For example, any of thedifferent types of TPMs including a 4-post analog transient protectionmodule 1100, a loudspeaker 2-post transient protection module 1200, a4-post digital transient protection module 1300, a T1/E1 transientprotection module 1400, or an Ethernet transient protection module 1500,as shown in FIGS. 11-15 respectively, may connect to the one or moreprinted circuit boards 412. The enclosure 101 may receive any one of thedifferent types of the one or more electronic devices 116 in one of themultiple drawers 502 to connect to one of the one or more printedcircuit boards 412.

The backplane 406 supports one or more signals having a power of up to300 Volts (V) and 2 Amps (A) on all lines as well as support for up to a1 Gigabit/Second (Gbps) differential signal. The different componentswithin the chassis 416 including the traces on the one or more printedcircuit boards 412, the one or more connectors on the one or moreprinted circuit boards 412, and the one or more input/output connectors302, 304 and 306 are designed to support the one or more signals havinga power of up to 300 V and 2 A and/or a digital signal with a speed ofup to 1 Gbps.

The different components may use material considerations, such as aprinted circuit board (PCB) laminate that has a dielectric constant of5.4 at 1 MHz, in conjunction with a copper weight of approximately 1ounce, a trace width of approximately 14-15 mils and/or a minimum tracespacing of 20 mils, or have other design configurations to support thesignal having 300V, 2 A of continuous power. An example of the PCBlaminate is a polyimide that meets the IPC-4101/41 or IPC-4101/42standards.

The different components may have matching pair to pair traces of thesame length for each channel and among the different channels. That is,the transmission line length and the receive line length are ofapproximately the same length and may be approximately the same lengthacross different channels. By having matching pair to pair traces of thesame length, delay is minimized for each channel and bidirectionalcommunication is optimized.

Additionally, the tracing supports a differential impedance ofapproximately 100 ohms to support transmission of an Ethernet signal. Tosupport the 100 ohm impedance, the traces in a pair may have a width ofapproximately 14 mils or 15 mils, with a spacing of approximately 35mils or 20 mils, respectively. The spacing between different pairs maybe approximately 5 times the trace width and/or a minimum of 70 mils tominimize crosstalk. Moreover, for a given signal pair there may be anequal number of vertical interconnected accesses (Vias) to assist inminimizing delay while interconnecting layers to maximize space.

A cover 414 may connect in between the backplane support 410 and a flexharness 804, as shown in FIG. 8. The cover 414 may protect one or moremodule guide pins that stick through the backplane support 410 fromrubbing against the flex harness 804.

FIG. 5 is an inside view of the front of the enclosure 101 with thefront cover 102 open. A drawer chest 402 is inside the enclosure 101 andwithin the cavity 114. The drawer chest 402 has multiple drawers 502.The drawer chest 402 may arrange the multiple drawers 502 in any numberof rows and/or columns in any number of configurations. For example, theenclosure 101 has 6 rows and 3 columns of drawers for a total of 18drawers. Any number of the one or more electronic devices 116 may beplaced in the drawers 502 in any configuration depending on theapplication and/or host electronic device. If no electronic device isinserted into an empty drawer, a cover plate would need to be installedin that position. For example, a first set of electronic devices may beinserted into the first column of drawers 502. The first set may then beremoved and a second set of electronic devices may be inserted in thethird row of drawers 502. The modularity of the electronic devices 116provides flexibility in adding, removing and/or reconfiguring theplacement of the electronic devices 116 which allows easy access to theelectronic devices 116 and simplifies configuration of the electronicdevices 116 for different applications.

The multiple drawers 502 have a cavity that extends along an axis froman opening of the cavity 114 to the rear of the rear base 104. Thecavity of the multiple drawers 502 receives the one or more electronicdevices 116. The multiple drawers 502 may receive different types of theone or more electronic devices 116. For example, any of the differenttypes of TPMs may be received within one of the multiple drawers 502 ofthe drawer chest 402.

Each of the drawers 502 may have a sliding mechanism to receive anelectronic device. The sliding mechanism may be two rail interfaces,e.g., rail interfaces 604 a-b of FIG. 6, that are on opposite sides ofeach of the drawers 502. The rail interfaces 604 a-b may receive therails 1602 a-b of the transient protection module 1600, as shown in FIG.16, when the transient protection module 1600 is inserted into one ofthe drawers 502. Each of the drawers 502 may have EMI Shieldingsurrounding the opening of the drawer to maintain the EM barrier of theenclosure, and may be mounted to the drawer chest 402 using one or morefasteners 602, such as a screw.

FIG. 7 is an interior view of the rear portion of the enclosure 101. Therear portion has the one or more input/output connectors 302, 304 and306 that are exposed outward of the rear surface 308. The one or moreinput/output connectors 302, 304 and 306 are housed within the rear base104 and are exposed from the enclosure 101 from the recessed region 708.Wires from the one or more printed circuit boards 412 may be bundledbehind the backplane support 410 into one or more cables 702 a-c toconnect to the one or more input/output connectors 302, 304 and 306. Theone or more cables 702 a-c may be routed along one or more cable paths,such as the cable paths 704 and 706. The one or more input/outputconnectors 302, 304 and 306 may connect to the host electronic device,for example, when the enclosure 101 is mounted onto the host electronicdevice.

In some implementations, the one or more printed circuit boards 412 areconnected to the one or more input/output connectors 302, 304 and 306through a flex harness 804, as shown in FIG. 8. The flex harness 804connects to the input/output connectors 302, 304 and 306 to provideexternal input/output. The flex harness 804 reduces the potential forwiring error within the enclosure 101.

FIG. 9 is an exploded view of the one or more printed circuit boards412. The one or more printed circuit boards 412 on the flex backplane406 may include one or more connectors 904 a-d. The one or moreconnectors 904 a-d may be self-aligning. The one or more connectors 904a-d may be female connectors, male connectors or a combination of both.The one or more connectors 904 a-904 d are configured to receive and/orinsert into a corresponding connector of an inserted electronic device116. The one or more connectors 904 a-d may receive a correspondingconnector of multiple different types of electronic devices 116. Thedifferent types of electronic devices 116 may be interchangeable witheach other. For example, a first electronic device, such as a four-postanalog transient protection module, may be inserted and connected to aprinted circuit board. The first electronic device may then be removedand a second electronic device, such as a T1/E1 transient protectionmodule, may be inserted and connected to the same printed circuit board.

The one or more connectors 904 a-d may be mounted on a connector lobe902. The connector lobe 902 may be connected to a flexible accordionattachment 904. The flexible accordion attachment 904 may attach to theflex backplane 406. The slide plates 404, 408 and the flexible accordionattachment 904 may allow the printed circuit board 412 to float or movevertically and/or horizontally so that the one or more connectors 904a-d may self-align and minimize the stress with one or more mis-alignedconnectors of an inserted electronic device 116.

FIG. 10 is a side view of the enclosure 101 showing an additional filtermodule 1008. The enclosure 101 may have a side mount 1010 that ismounted on a side surface of the rear base 104. The additional filtermodule 1008 may be mounted using the side mount 1010. In someimplementations, a rain cover 1004 is mounted to a mounting plate 1002that is connected to the side mount 1010. The rain cover 1004 may bemovable between a raised position (as shown) and a lowered position.When in the lowered position, the rain cover 1004 encloses theadditional filter module 1008 and protects the additional filter module1008 from rain ingress and/or other environmental conditions.

FIG. 16 is a rear view of a transient protection module 1600. Thetransient protection module 1600 has a housing 1608, a front panel 1606,and one or more connectors 1604. The housing 1608 may have a lid and maybe made of aluminum. The front panel 1606 may have one or more bindingposts, e.g., binding posts 1102 a-d of FIG. 11. The binding posts mayconnect to a source signal that is to be filtered and may be surroundedwith an insulator. The transient protection module 1600 may havemultiple guide rails, e.g., rails 1602 a-b, positioned on opposite sidesof the transient protection module 1600. The rails 1602 a-b mayinterface and slide into the one or more rail interfaces 604 a-b of adrawer 502. The one or more connectors 1604 a-d of the TPM 1600 mayengage the one or more connectors 904 a-d of the one or more printedcircuit boards 412. The one or more connectors 1604 a-d may have a pin1610 that engages the one or more connectors 904 a-d to guide and alignthe connector on the TPM with the connectors on the printed circuitboards 412 before the electrical contacts meet.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention have been disclosed in anillustrative style. Accordingly, the terminology employed throughoutshould be read in a non-limiting manner. Although minor modifications tothe teachings herein will occur to those well versed in the art, itshall be understood that what is intended to be circumscribed within thescope of the patent warranted hereon are all such embodiments thatreasonably fall within the scope of the advancement to the art herebycontributed, and that that scope shall not be restricted, except inlight of the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An enclosure for protecting electronic devices,comprising: a rear base defining a cavity configured to hold a pluralityof different interchangeable electronic devices including a firstinterchangeable electronic device configured to protect a first signalof a first type and a second interchangeable electronic deviceconfigured to protect a second signal of a second type; a front covercoupled to the rear base; a backplane within the cavity of the rearbase; and a drawer chest that has a plurality of drawers, the backplanebeing configured to connect to any of the plurality of differentinterchangeable electronic devices including the first interchangeableelectronic device and the second interchangeable electronic device whenan electronic device of the different interchangeable electronic devicesis inserted into any drawer of the plurality of drawers.
 2. Theenclosure of claim 1, wherein the front cover and the rear base areconnected via a hinge having a pin, wherein the hinge allows the frontcover to be uncoupled from the rear base when the pin is removed fromthe hinge, wherein the front cover is movable between an open positionand a closed position.
 3. The enclosure of claim 1, further comprising:one or more connectors that are exposed outward and provide a connectionto a host electronic device.
 4. The enclosure of claim 3, wherein therear base has a rear surface and the rear surface has a recessedportion.
 5. The enclosure of claim 4, wherein the one or more connectorsare exposed outward from the recessed portion.
 6. The enclosure of claim1, further comprising: one or more connectors that are exposed outwardand provide a connection to a host electronic device; and a flexibleharness that electrically connects the inserted electronic device of thedifferent interchangeable electronic devices to at least one of the oneor more connectors via the backplane.
 7. The enclosure of claim 6,wherein the one or more connectors, the flexible harness, and thebackplane are configured to provide a pass-through for a signal from theinserted electronic device to the host electronic device.
 8. Theenclosure of claim 1, wherein the different interchangeable electronicdevices include one or more two to eight wire interchangeable transientprotection modules.
 9. The enclosure of claim 1, wherein each drawer ofthe plurality of drawers defines a cavity configured to hold theelectronic device of the different interchangeable electronic devicesand has two rail interfaces on opposites sides of the drawer to eachreceive a rail of the electronic device.
 10. The enclosure of claim 1,wherein the backplane has a printed circuit board, wherein the printedcircuit board connects to a single electronic device of the differentinterchangeable electronic devices when the single electronic device isinserted into a drawer of the plurality of drawers.
 11. The enclosure ofclaim 1, wherein a drawer of the plurality of drawers is configured toreceive the first interchangeable electronic device when the firstinterchangeable electronic device is inserted and the secondinterchangeable electronic device when the second interchangeableelectronic device is inserted.
 12. The enclosure of claim 1, wherein thefirst signal of the first type is an analog signal, a digital signal, aloudspeaker signal, a T1/E1 signal, a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)signal, an Ethernet signal, or a Power over Ethernet (PoE) signal.
 13. Amethod for protecting electronic devices, the method comprising:securing a first interchangeable transient protection module in a firstdrawer of a drawer chest within a cavity defined by a rear base of anenclosure, wherein the securing of the first interchangeable transientprotection module connects the first interchangeable transientprotection module to a first connector on a backplane; securing a secondinterchangeable transient protection module in a second drawer of thedrawer chest, wherein the securing of the second interchangeabletransient protection module connects the second interchangeabletransient protection module to a second connector on the backplane,wherein the second interchangeable transient protection module is of adisparate type from the first interchangeable transient protectionmodule, and wherein the securing the first interchangeable transientprotection module in the first drawer and the securing the secondinterchangeable transient protection module in the second drawercomprises a first configuration; and removing one of either the firstinterchangeable transient protection module or the secondinterchangeable transient protection module and replacing it with aninterchangeable transient protection module of a disparate type fromthat of the removed interchangeable transient protection module suchthat a second configuration is created.
 14. The method of claim 13,further comprising: removing one of either the first interchangeabletransient protection module or the second interchangeable transientprotection module and replacing it with an interchangeable transientprotection module of the same type as the other, non-removedinterchangeable transient protection module such that a thirdconfiguration is created.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the firstinterchangeable transient protection module protects a first signal of afirst type and the second interchangeable transient protection moduleprotects a second signal of a second type.
 16. An enclosure forprotecting electronic devices, comprising: a rear base defining a cavityconfigured to hold a plurality of electronic devices including a firstelectronic device configured to protect a first signal of a first typeand a second electronic device configured to protect a second signal ofa second type; a front cover coupled to the rear base; a drawer chesthaving a plurality of cavities that are configured to receive any of thefirst electronic device or the second electronic device into any of theplurality of cavities; a backplane within the cavity of the rear baseand having a printed circuit board that is configured to engage with thefirst electronic device when the first electronic device is inserted andthe second electronic device when the second electronic device isinserted; one or more connectors that provide a connection to a hostelectronic device; and a flexible harness that electrically connects thebackplane to the one or more connectors to form the connection to thehost electronic device.
 17. The enclosure of claim 16, wherein the oneor more connectors, the flexible harness and the backplane areconfigured to allow a signal to pass-through to the host electronicdevice.
 18. The enclosure of claim 16, wherein the front cover ismovable between an open position and a closed position.